


Muscle Memory

by smolkorok



Category: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda) - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: 2 curse words, Admiration, Harp - Freeform, Insecurity, Is Hyrule a shitty flute?, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), LoZ Songs, Mind Control, Music, Musical Instruments, Nervousness, Ocarina of Time, Recorder - Freeform, Songs, The Links are all having fun, melodies, sprinkle of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-05-13
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24160672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolkorok/pseuds/smolkorok
Summary: Hyrule was training hard, trying to master a certain sword technique. Time wanted him to relax. So, when Time brought out his sparkling blue Ocarina of Time for a quick session, this seemed to remind Hyrule of the instrument that he has on hand.
Relationships: Hyrule & Legend (Linked Universe), Hyrule & Time (Linked Universe), Legend & Wind (Linked Universe)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 96





	Muscle Memory

Hyrule took a step forward, swinging his sword in a large arc as his blade cut the air, evident in the sharp _woosh_ that it made. 

His eyes looked beyond the darkened oak trees of the forest, to which the light failed to touch upon. What creatures may the forest host, for he did not know. What the creatures of the forest did not know of is the skills that were trained into his very being, the precise and calculated sword slashes programmed into him. He was but a built hero of Hyrule.

Another clean slice that would perfectly skewer a moblin in half gave him the approval that he really _is_ getting better. After all, he had eight other heroes to train with, so he sought to achieve his full potential.

He snapped his bent left elbow straight as the tip of the blade sliced the open air in a diagonal cut. With the extra momentum, he used his full body to spin in the opposite direction. He swung his whole arm horizontally, making sure not to collide with any nearby objects. The trees, campfire, and leaves all became a blur of colors until he harshly dug his heel down on the hard dirt ground to stop himself. Dizzy, he planted the sword straight down, leaning on it with both of his hands, his back hunched over. 

Hyrule's shoulders heaved in exertion and he heard the blood roar in his ears. He closed his eyes, trying to stop his jolting stomach from wasting Wild’s dinner. He laid in that position for a minute, shuddering as he tried to catch his breath.

A new voice called, "Calm, calm, little traveler. Training at this long hour will only exhaust you even more. The day is getting dark and we need to conserve our energy. Why don't you relax for a bit?"

Hyrule turned his head to the side, finding the Hero of Time, who was resting his back against a log. He flicked his fingers back, inviting Hyrule over to the group.

Time allowed Hyrule a few more seconds to recover as the latter’s cheeks still held its deep rosy blush along with his eyebrows, which were drenched in sweat.

After a short pause, Hyrule pulled his sword out of the ground, sheathing it as he walked on over to join the group relaxing near the glow of the campfire. 

"I see that you're still, well, out of breath. How about we engage in a little song?" Time quirked his eyebrows, snapping a sparkling blue ocarina from his waist. "Is there anything that you have, perhaps a musical instrument?" 

Time licked his lips, flicking his tongue over them quickly, before bringing the woodwind up to his mouth, setting his lips over the mouthpiece. He adjusted his left hand so that his fingers covered the holes of the ocarina and he pulled his right arm closer to himself. His shoulders slowly raised as he inhaled, and a series of notes sounded.

Hyrule's ears took in the delicious melody that the older had crafted. That reminded him, he _did_ have something! Now where was his trusty recorder?

He plunged his hand into his bag, sinking his arm further and further inside the infinite depths until his fingers met a clutter of items. Was it to the left, or to the right? He dug around, hearing the small _tinks_ of glass bottles colliding. His fingers grabbed a hold of a long, smooth, and cylinder object and he pulled it out of the bag.

"That was just a few test notes," Time said.

Legend muttered, "Showoff," and brought out a smaller beige ocarina similar to Time's. He protectively clutched his own instrument.

In a matter of seconds, Sky already readied his harp, and Wind his baton deemed the Wind Waker, and Twilight--a small green blade of grass!?

"Twilight, are you sure that's an instrument? Because that’s a tea ingredient." Warriors deadpanned.

"Hundred-percent sure! If I can make a sound on this‘ole thing, then I can jus’ do about anything with it!" Twilight proceeded to pinch the sides of the leaf in between his pointer finger and thumb so that it was flat as possible. He brought it in between his slightly parted lips, and blew out a slightly high and buzzy sound. High-Low-High-Low. He finished off the melody, half expecting a hawk to fly down and perch on his arms. 

Four's jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me."

"Now _that’s_ my mentor!" Wild proudly shouted from the back of the group, his voice booming over the chirps of the night.

Thankfully, Wild served as a distraction for Hyrule as the group focused on the scarred hero. Hyrule used this precious time trying to figure out the fingerings of his recorder. He couldn't seem to place his fingers over the right holes because they were shaky and uncertain. Muscle memory wasn't going to serve him this time.

"Hey Hyrule!" Wind called, now bringing the group's attention upon him. He suddenly felt conscious of himself because he was now on the spot. And he was never at the full center of attention like this before.

Oh, the three goddesses above, his thoughts pleaded.

"What'cha got there?" Wind asked.

"Oh, a recorder."

"Can you play it for us?"

"Sure I-"

Wind interrupted again. "What songs do you know?"

"Well, I know this one w-"

"Cool!" Wind smiled.

"Wind can you please let him speak for once?" Time tiredly stated. Is this what dealing with kids felt like?

Wind pouted, crossing his arms while the stick of the baton poked out under his right elbow. [*See end of chapter notes]

"Thanks Time," Hyrule started, clearly nodding to the eldest, and he continued. "I found this recorder in one of my dungeons. It's been a while, and I can't figure out the notes right now."

Wild raised his voice as he was sitting farthest from him. "Maybe it's muscle memory! That's what happened to me when I came out of the old shrine. The locals said that I handled a horse like a true natural. Maybe you can handle your 'recorder' thing the same way as I did. C'mon, give it a try!" Wild prompted.

Hyrule mumbled, "I guess." He nervously brought the recorder up to his lips, his fingers scrambling over the holes. No one taught him anything about how to play this!

His lungs swelled with a dose of anxiety. He tightly squeezed his eyes shut, and he let the air leave him in the same way that he took it in.

A high, scratchy, and bloody screech filled the air, the notes ugly enough as if it could shatter a window. Legend clamped his hands over his ears and Sky, Four, and Twilight followed suit. The only immune ones were Wind, Time, Wild, and Warriors, who leaned back in surprise.

He finally mustered the courage to open his eyes. He saw half of them in pain. Oh no, he screwed up. They didn’t like it at all. He halted, his fingers twitching over the smooth instrument.

Hyrule started, starting to ramble faster and faster. "No, no, no, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have played. No one taught me, I just... I thought I was still good but after this time I can't be good at anyt-"

"Hyrule, stop this bullshit."

"Legend?"

Blinking away the tears in his eyes--no, he can't cry now, he's a hero. Heroes don't cry--Hyrule found his predecessor right in his full sight, hindering him from fleeing. Two hands clamped around his shoulders; he was trapped. He had nowhere to escape Legend's piercing gaze. 

Finally, the blonde of the two's face softened. 

"'Rule. Don't ever feel bad if you're not good at anything. Not everybody is perfect. Not even pretty-boy over there, not even Sky, not even the sailor, the cook, the little guy, the ranchman, the Old Man, that wolf, or even me!"

Wild had the audacity to interrupt. "Hey, Wolfie's gonna get you for that."

Legend ignored him. "Don't even _think_ for a _second_ that I'm perfect. Because we've all got our own flaws. But we embrace those mistakes and move on, ‘cause sometimes the little things shouldn't have to mess with our goal. Got that, Hyrule?"

Hyrule nodded, only wanting to be freed of Legend's wrath.

The pantsless hero studied his face for a few more seconds before dismissing him. Thank Hylia! He felt like he was going to crack under Legend's pressure.

Hyrule allowed himself to take a relieved breath as Wind spoke up. “Well, it didn’t really bother me. My ‘ole sailor ears are used to cannon fire, so this sound here isn’t much worse than what I deal with.” The sailor earned nods from Warriors and Time.

Wild contributed.“You all know what happened to my left ear.” His voice was lost into thin air as the eight heroes, especially Sky, visibly cringed at that comment, remembering Wild’s blasted ear.

Time then broke the silence. "You know, you don't have to play tonight if you don't want to," he said lowly. It was directed at him. Hyrule saw that his face held a mask of guilt, causing his heart to clench painfully.

"No, no, Time. Time. I-I just...I _want_ to play. I just don't know if I'm ready."

Time nodded. "Well, I guess so. Whatever you're comfortable with." With that, he brought his shiny blue ocarina up to his lips and played three notes. The notes descended from high to low, as if a certain horse was summoned, gracefully galloping over the hills of Hyrule. Time continued his melody.

While Time played, Hyrule noticed Twilight and Four lean forward on the edge of their seats, drawn to Time's melody. His eyes fell, resting at the shiny yellow recorder. His mind couldn't stop echoing Legend's words. 

_Not everybody is perfect._

His grip tightened around the flute. He was trying so hard to be a hero like them. Look at Time. He could play, he could swing the blade, and he even has a wife. Look at how successful he is. And him? He only knows how to wield a blade. And yet he didn't master the spin attack, which every other hero seemed to know except for him. For goddess sake, he can't even play a simple note on a flute. Come on, Hyrule. Why are you destined to be such a failure?

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud series of claps. Was the song over already? 

Next up on the "stage", or now "log", was Sky, who plucked his song from a series of strings. His face relaxed as he poured his heart and soul into the colorful melody that he crafted, as if it would be captured by the ancient soaring creatures way above the earth. 

"And that was the Ballad of the Goddess!" Sky shyly bowed after his performance, blushing as he received praise from the claps. 

Finally, Legend stood up from his place on top of a wooden log. He seemed to command the attention of the group as he brought a certain beige ocarina up to his mouth. He widened his stance, clearing his throat before he placed his mouth on the instrument. 

When the first few notes flowed out, Hyrule's eyes widened in awe.

3 ascending notes followed by another 3 ascending notes were finally finished by 5 more. After a small break, Legend closed his eyes, similar to Time, and continued the rest of the melody.

With his eyes closed, Legend could now focus on the pure essence of the sound. The song took him way back to a journey that seemed too perfect, almost unreal; he later found out that his suspicions had proven to be true. The melody that told the tale of a bitter ending. He could almost feel the warmth of the sun on his skin, hear the rustling grass, hear the creatures of the forest surrounding him, and more importantly, feel Marin's bright presence. Even though she was gone, her legacy that she left behind will always remain in his heart.

A signal proved that the song was coming to an end as it slowed down, the last few notes being held for a slightly longer duration. After the final note carried in the air for a few more beats, Legend silently lowered his ocarina in a professional manner. After a few seconds, he stood straight and alert. Whistles filled the air in accompany to the claps and cheers.

"Thank you," Legend smugly bowed.

Time pushed himself up, his old joints audibly cracking. "That was pretty good. What was that song?"

"Ballad of the Windfish," Legend stepped off the log, sitting next to Hyrule, who followed his face with a frozen awed expression.

Noticing this, Legend's eyebrows pulled together in confusion. "What?"

"That...was truly amazing. I'd like to hear it again as many times as you’d like."

"Hyrule, what?! You're acting all soft, this isn't like you. Are you okay?" 

For the first time that night, Hyrule let a chuckle escape his mouth. "No, not really. I might still suck at the recorder though." 

"Well, it's okay if you suck with instruments at first. Every professional was once a beginner. Learning how to play is like learning a new language. You got to be with the right people in order to improve all together. There's no point in learning by yourself if you can't put it into play."

This seemed to strike a chord in Hyrule. He thought, learning a new language is like learning the techniques of the sword. Being with soldiers, in this case, the Links to train with would help him improve. And putting it to the test meant to use it against monsters!

Connecting the dots together, Hyrule gasped, a faint lightbulb appearing over his head. "Wait, so that means that-"

"Yes, 'Rule. Alright, alright. I’ll give ya some lessons, but not now," Legend sighed. Hyrule's heart rate picked up as a renewed burst of energy shot through him. 

"Thank you!" Hyrule exclaimed, contemplating whether he should hug the hero or not. Deciding that it would be against his usual self, he didn’t. 

A new voice popped up, a scratchy yet lower voice well-into-puberty. "I can tell that you take your own advice ‘cuz, to be fair, you were like, completely _rushing_ at some points."

Legend snapped his head towards Wind. How dare someone challenge him? He retorted, “Are you questioning my talent? You can't tell _me_ how to play, or so tell me. Who's the one really playing here?"

Wind flicked his arms upwards in a ready position, the Wind Waker pointing towards the sky, ready to conduct. He cooly replied, "Me."

The seasoned hero could only watch, confused as Wind, who wore an evil smirk, with bold and slight gracefulness wave his arm to his left, forward, right, and forward. 

The last thing Legend saw was Wind's upper back dropping into a hunch, focused etched into his contorted face. Then, he saw black.

"Wind? WIND!?" Warriors rushed over to the sailor, seeing him standing with such strange gestures. He gave him a light tap on the shoulder, and then a small shove. Warriors’s strength could not compete with Wind’s position as if the sailor was glued to the ground. He wouldn’t budge.

A soft thud caused everyone's heads to whip towards the commotion to find the body of Legend, who was as still as a statue. His facial features were frozen, his eyes wide, staring into the void, and his fingers loosened as his beige ocarina rested on the ground.

"Oh shoot," Twilight said.

Legend started to visibly vibrate, and then he stopped. Wild would describe the action as a “guardian rebooting”. He now stood straight and tall.

In a way-too-happy expression on his face, Legend suddenly twisted about, overturning his hands, and then his arms, and inspecting around his torso, sides, and back. In a way that was too unlike Legend, he twirled and smiled. His usual tenor voice seemed to rise too-high as he beamed. "Wow cool!" 

His wide grin met everyone's terrified eyes. Wind _is_ Legend. And he was truly the one that played him.

He continued, looking at his now bare-legs. He was fascinated. In Legend's voice, he joked, "Now this is what it feels like to feel pantsless. How does he live like this?"

Recovering from shock, Warriors pointed an accused finger at Legend. "Wind, when he finds out about this, you're in for a bad time. What did you do to him? Tell me, what did you do?"

The other hero simply played with the new body's silky strands of hair. "Oh, nothing. It won't hurt him at all. But you _are_ right. He won’t be very happy with this, but it was a fun little experiment." He brought a hand up, holding his chin in it, thinking. 

"Aha!"

Legend's body suddenly flopped over, overtaken by the strong pulls of gravity until a white and blue blur flashed by. Sky's superior reflexes benefited him as he dove underneath the falling Legend and managed to catch him in his arms. Phew! That was a close call. Legend had almost planted himself face-first into the dirt.

Nobody noticed as Wind regained his consciousness from the mind-controlling pose. Instead, they were laughing at the way Legend shrieked loudly, blushing madly as he shoved Sky's arms out of the way. 

Laughter filled the cool night air, and even Hyrule had joined the fun with his soft chuckles!

In the midst of this, Four had spat out his drink all over Warriors, who shouted "My precious scarf!" The laughter increased tenfold as Warriors's hair now clung to his forehead, wet with Four's spit. Warriors heavily grumbled curses under his breath.

The laughter was interrupted by the power of a single word.

"WIND."

Wind cowered under Legend's gaze as the seasoned hero stomped over, towering over him. Wind's heart raced. He thought, oh no Legend's gonna kill me, Legend's gonna kill me, Legend's gonna kill me.

The older adult started. "If you let me drop this ocarina one more time,"

Wind mentally confirmed, yep, he's gonna kill me.

Legend continued, "I'm gonna tell Tetra to have you walk the plank the next time we end up in your Hyrule, Great Sea, or whatever." 

Wind gulped loudly. No, not Tetra. _Please,_ not her. Anything _but_ her.l

Seeing Wind nodding frantically and his terrified, yet innocent eyes seemed to have tugged at his heartstrings. His sorry ass better not play around next time.

"Geez, you don't need to be so uptight about it. I was only joking." Legend mumbled.

"Oh thank the goddesses! Phew!" The sailor pretended to dramatically wipe his sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, smiling. “But of all things, you curse me for dropping your ocarina and not possessing you?”

Legend sneered, “Well, of course it _seems_ like the ocarina is more important than my body.”

“Legend!”

Legend gave a light punch to Wind's shoulder, his trademark joking sign, and sat back down next to Hyrule.

Hyrule witnessed the whole scene. And to Legend, he's never seen such a hardened hero, who was ever looked so greatly upon, twirling around in his tunic and speaking with such a bright voice. It was strange. It was almost foreign.

Legend plopped himself back onto the log next to Hyrule, sighing as he did so. The brunette, who had been gently tapping against the ancient instrument, slightly jumped as he noticed his mentor sit beside him. He tried to look at all but Legend, but he could still feel the eyes of the other on both his recorder and himself.

"So, are you gonna play it or what?" The words sounded quite demanding and rude, but when Legend said it, he spoke it with patience and a hint of curiosity. 

Hyrule glanced at the recorder in his hands. "Well, I just have a bad feeling that the others will judge me again. You _know_ I’m bad."

Legend huffed, "Well, it was your first time, right? It won't hurt to try it again. You'll get better that way."

Hyrule twirled the recorder around his fingers. Maybe he might. 

He attempted to stand up, but his wobbly legs had the better of him; he was glued to his seat. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he debated whether to perform or not. If he didn't do it, it would save him a handful of embarrassment. But if he did, what if he succeeded? Well, mostly everyone before him played, and he was the only remaining Link with an instrument. He can't just take out a recorder to blast something. He's got to prove himself either way.

His mind made a quick decision. Screw it. He cleared his throat, and in a soft voice, he announced, "I think I'd like to play now."

The group quieted, giving their full attention to the traveler. Hyrule sensed this greatly, from the excited look of Sky onto the anticipated face of Time. Oh no. What if he messed up in front of them again? He could feel their already judgemental thoughts as Hyrule was the final performer of the night. He closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths in. Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. In, and out. In, and out. 

When his breathing rate dropped, he glanced at Legend, who gave a small, encouraging nod. With his final validation, he took a deep breath in, his shoulders rising, and he blew into the mouthpiece.

This time, a screech did not follow. Rather, a smooth melody took through the air, healing the shattered eardrums from the previous attempt. 

Two notes, low to high, rang throughout the air. The highest was followed by a series of more fast notes from high to low, as if it fell down a small waterfall of the spring of the Great Fairy. 

It was a simple tune, and with its notes it was able to heal the shattered eardrums and ease the sore pains of the weary heroes. Hyrule did not know how his fingers managed to find their proper alignment, but it had finally done so. He did have some muscle memory after all.

After he finished, he brought the recorder down to settle on his lap. His eyes darted around at the other heroes faces, which were either shock, amazement, or disbelief. Is that what they truly thought of him?

After a small silence, one claps, now two, four, and finally the whole group was clapping. Cheers cried out, yells of encouragement, some woo's, and a "Good job Hyrule!" 

Legend even complimented, “We saved the best for the last, and you sure impressed me.”

His cheeks flooded with a rosy color at the compliments. Hyrule didn't know how his fingers did it. He really didn't think, he just felt the music within him. He let the song overtake his very being, letting his soul passionately play the one song that he knows best: the Warp song.

Feeling a clap on his shoulder, Hyrule forced himself to tilt his head up to look at Time, who wore a small smile.

Time spoke. "I recognize that melody!”

Hyrule asked in awe, “You do?”

Time nodded. “Yeah. I can’t remember correctly, but it was a little theme that made me want to go back to my young self.”

“Well, it was more of a warp song-“

Time pat his shoulder once more. “See, I knew you had it in you. You are a musician, and that doesn't only define you as a hero of Hyrule. The fact that you had the courage to stand up once more after falling _and_ showing off your talents impresses me. That’s because," Time paused, smiling.

"That's because you not only have the talent of being a musician, but you have the talent of showing drastic improvement, whether it be through your instrument, or through the ways of the sword."

Hyrule smiled, his eyelashes fluttering. He tapped his fingers against the holes, no longer feeling lost, but rather familiar with his recorder. One simple mistake wasn’t going to stop him from mastering more songs. And he’s got eight other heroes to help him on the way.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my discord LW from May 11-12, 2020! Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed!. It is hard to convey sound and words in the same setting because they are two different things--hearing and visual. I tried to describe the songs as best as I could so that you can understand it!  
> Songs: Twilight - Hawk grass song, Time - Epona's song, Sky - Ballad of the Goddess, Legend - Ballad of the Windfish, Wind - Command Melody (conducted), Hyrule - Warp song (aka the Ocarina of Time theme if you did not know, it's in LOZ1 and you can find the instrument in the 7th temple)
> 
> [NOTES:  
> Wind and Hyrule's interaction/interrogation was based on this video, and I couldn't stop laughing. Don't worry, it's less than a minute long.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3W4Mx2aSGE)]


End file.
